Leading full-service firm Shearn Delamore & Co houses one of the largest dispute resolution practice groups in the country, with no less than 16 partners regularly engaged in litigation and arbitration in their specialist areas. The firm features in the top echelons of all our categories. The firm has a growing niche professional negligence litigation offering, with a dedicated team advising clients from the medical, legal and other professions.
Head of disputes, Rabindra S. Nathan helms the team that includes corporate and commercial specialist Dhinesh Bhaskaran, construction expert Rodney Gomez, competition partner K Shanti Mogan, employment head Sivabalah Nadarajah, intellectual property specialist Karen Abraham, tax head Anand Raj, and white-collar crime partner Rajasingam Gothandapani.
In a notable commercial dispute, the firm acted on behalf of Opus Consultants in defending a suit commenced by Dhaya against the Government of Malaysia, the former minister of transport, Opus and Keretapi Tanah Melayu. The lawsuit revolves around Dhaya's appointment to carry out the Klang Valley double tracking project (phase 2) and the subsequent termination of that appointment. Dhaya alleges that Opus influenced the Government of Malaysia and/or the minister of transport to breach the contract by orchestrating Dhaya's termination. Dhaya is seeking compensation from Opus, which includes idling costs, finance costs and inflation. This case raises compelling questions regarding whether a decision made by the Government of Malaysia, based on public interest, national security, and national interest, can be influenced by a private entity.
Some recent disputes clients are Apex Equity Holdings, Danieli Co, JF Apex Securities, Sabah Electricity and TMF Trustees Malaysia.
Client feedback
“Provide sound legal advice on short notice.” – Commercial and transactions
“Extremely professional in understanding the brief and the business, in proposing very outside-the-box and workable solutions to the business, attended to many last-minute changes requested, meeting requests and very tight deadlines with courtesy and professionalism. The presentations which were to senior leaders in the company were very well received, all questions answered very satisfactorily, and they handled the pressure we put them under very well. They did not complain or present any resistance to the constant fluctuation of instructions and changes in the brief and handled the entire project with ease and grace.” –
Competition/antitrust
“Accessibility to the partners, prompt response and updates, sound legal advice.” –Competition/antitrust
“Shearn Delamore & Co provides excellent communications and updates. They keep you well-informed as to the status of your matter. And they always provide useful business-focused advice and counsel. They seek to enhance the client's business, not focusing only on the purely legal aspects of a particular case.” – Intellectual property
“SD are experts in all of these TM (trademark) areas. They provide clear communications, with focused advice based on the business needs of the client. They look for the best result for the client, whether it's litigation or a negotiated settlement. They are experts in all areas of Malaysian TM law.” – Intellectual property
“Deep knowledge of Malaysian law, particularly in the field of intellectual property. Knowledge of pharmaceutical industry.” – Intellectual property
“They are good at copyright and domain name-related matters.” – Intellectual property
“They provide good insights and strategy in handling legal matters involving trade disputes and employment.” – Labour and employment
Karen Abraham
“Karen is an amazing attorney. She knows everyone in Malaysia and uses those connections to help her clients. Further, her knowledge of IP is unparalleled. She employs that knowledge in the interests of her clients.”
“Karen is an expert in all areas of TM law. She is the go-to expert in all of Malaysia, in my opinion. I've worked with her for numerous years and have always been impressed by her legal knowledge and business savvy. A real pro.”
Raymond T C Low
“Sharp mind and good legal advice and guidance.”
Jyeshta Mahendran
“Jyeshta is easily accessible, extremely prompt in her response and providing advice, and easy to work with as she builds a good rapport with the client.”
Shanti Mogan
“Provides sound legal advice on short notice.”
Anand Raj
“Attended to the project with very much attention and seriousness. Took a lot of time to understand the issue before suggesting potential solutions. Solutions proposed were very well thought through, outside the box and workable. Very high standards of preparing decks and ensuring everything was in proper order before sending it to them. Amenable to accommodating our last-minute meeting requests. Extremely knowledgeable, quite brilliant, actually, in his area of expertise, and he managed to impress extremely fussy leaders in the company with his broad wealth of understanding of the laws not just in Malaysia, but in APAC.”
Indran Shanmuganathan
“Excellent courtroom skills, as well as persistence and determination.”
Yoong San (Janet) Toh
“Janet is a partner at Shearn Delamore & Co. She is a trademark specialist with considerable experience. Many clients have described her as a real pleasure to deal with, and as someone who really understands their business.”
Wei Hang (Justin) Tong
“Very responsive, proactive and always gives advice based on professional legal knowledge.”
